Wales FA chief addresses Craig Bellamy’s position

Craig Bellamy is “absolutely committed” to his Wales role following the breakdown of his proposed move to Burnley.

That’s the verdict of Noel Mooney, chief executive of the Welsh FA, who has no doubts over Bellamy’s commitment.

That’s despite the 46-year-old coming close to succeeding Scott Parker at Turf Moor, with a deal said to have been agreed earlier this week.

But the Wales boss since U-turned on that agreement, with the Clarets now said to be focusing on other targets - two months on from Parker’s departure.

“Craig's been brilliant with us,” Mooney told the BBC’s Politics Wales programme.

“He got us promoted from Nations League B to A and we look forward to going to Nations League A this autumn, against Portugal, Denmark and Norway.

“We were unfortunate not to get the World Cup on penalty kicks - when you get to penalty kicks it's a lottery.

“We'd loved to have been there, but now our focus is very much on Nations League A and Craig at the helm.”

Despite the collapse of Bellamy’s return to Burnley, where he had previously held the role of assistant under Vincent Kompany, several Wales fans have expressed their disappointment over their manager’s conduct.

That’s led to suggestions Bellamy could still leave his role, but Mooney expects him to remain in charge when the next international games come round in September.

“Yeah, we just look forward to these games,” he said.

“He's done a terrific job here so far. He has got us playing really, really good football. We're just looking forward to the autumn now.”

Mooney also played down suggestions that Bellamy’s interest in the Burnley job has damaged his position and standing as the figurehead of the Welsh team.

“Craig is absolutely committed to his country. He is committed to the job,” Mooney added.

“Every discussion we have, he's always talking about the future and how we're going to go forward.

“We understand the conversations will happen around the place, but he's here, and we're all looking forward to the autumn.”

It was only on Tuesday that Mooney all but confirmed Bellamy was about to depart.

He told S4C News: “We were always open to the fact that people have personal ambition, that opportunities arise, and sometimes that someone has done something great in an organisation and then another opportunity presents itself.”